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Same here. It's very sad I haven't been able to really get into the last few films.

I'm finding them increasingly predictable.. And dare I say a bit formula Disney (or MillsandBoon)... as feisty young hero (fashionably a girl /the Disney princess) plus the sidekick goes onanadventure with prince hard-to-get.. And a cute animal.. Pitted against the overdrawn bad guy and his minions. Dose of teen angst. Always got a cantina scene and some cringeworthy stereotypes for colour. And feisty beats everyone in the end. Tick. Tick. And Tick..
It's like im waiting for them to burst into a song to relieve the onerous, constant soundtrack, in between the set piece action sequences featuring the new toys... but I can't actually engage the story and suspend (dis) belief

There was a fine line on the storytelling charm of the original, staying fresh was the challenge

Writing communicates through time, allowing us to read the very words written by the ancients. We might read the proclaimations of rulers, or a simple laundry list.. Sometimes its hard to tell the difference...

no spoiler intended but i think they are going to kill leia off. with carrie's passing. the films are entertaining but i think they waited too long in making them. the original actors aged as we all do. george lucas wasn't going to do an episode 7, 8, or 9 or was he and decided to scrap it for the prequels. imho the best of the prequels is revenge of the sith.

I had little, if any problem with Episode VII. If anything, I did find it a bit predictable, but beyond that, it was pretty entertaining. I look forward to Episode VIII.
(My fave "Wars" movie though is Rogue One. )

"It is not so much that I am a smart man, rather that I have simply been accused of having good ideas....on occasion." -Martok2112
"Much of what I know, I don't know half as well as I'd like, and half of what I know is more than deserves to be learned." -Martok2112

I had little, if any problem with Episode VII. If anything, I did find it a bit predictable, but beyond that, it was pretty entertaining. I look forward to Episode VIII.
(My fave "Wars" movie though is Rogue One. )

I felt the same way, Steve, about Episode VII. It felt like we were getting reacquainted with some old friends.

I enjoyed Rogue One as well. I have only watched it once or twice, partly due to other events and partly by design. When I do watch it again, I still want it to have that "new car smell".

Regarding the predictability comments, some of that comes with the fact that we are about to have the NINTH movie released. There is not a whole lot of new territory to explore in the S/W past since the prequels have been done and nothing really worthwhile could be done, expanding on the middle three episodes so, the only way to go is forward. Yes, many 'situations' have been done, in this series, in this genre, and in other movies. Does that fact ruin the movie for the movie-goer?

For my sci-fi viewing, I look for a well-told story that combines believability with the unexplainable. If it does that and if it entertains me, I'm satisfied.

Something I find fun to do is to find ways to make Rogue One and the Legends (non-canon) novel "Death Star", and the Star Wars Radio Play from 1980 work together. Death Star is a really good read. It was written well before Rogue One, so it still seemed to follow the original story of the Death Star's construction, and the Star Wars Radio Play had Leia and her ship, the Tantive IV, personally receiving the transmitted data over a world called Toprawa.

The novel, Death Star, weaves in and out of the Episode IV narrative, and expands on certain events, as well as features an interesting cast of characters, some of whom are civilian contractors/conscripts/escaped convicts aboard the battle station.

Heh....and Grand Moff Tarkin has a love interest in the form of a female Admiral named Daala. Judging by how she's described in the novel, I could have seen her portrayed by the likes of (if I remember my names correctly) Sara Douglas, whom I believe played Ursa in Superman II were a movie of this made around 1980.... or if made today (courtesy of Disney's face morphing techniques for GM Tarkin), Daala could be played by Cate Blanchett (Galadriel from the LotR films, or the main bad chick from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). This adds a slight (slight) bit of humanity to the otherwise cold, ruthless persona of Tarkin.

Among the main characters for the novel:

Lt. Villian "Vil" Dance, a TIE fighter squad leader pilot who is smitten with a conscripted architect named Teela Kaarz.

Meema Roothes, a female Twi'lek bar owner/bartender who runs the Hard Heart cantina on the Death Star

Her doorman/bouncer, Rodo, who is a bit more knowledgeable about Imperial ops than he might let on. Rodo befriends a Death Star Trooper named Sergeant Nova Stihl, a former guard on the prison planet, Despayre, who is transferred to the Death Star, and becomes a teacher of Teras Kasi (a prominent martial art in the Star Wars universe). Nova also seems to have an edge in combat, something he calls "The Blink" which allows him to have a split second edge over potential/active opponents in hand to hand combat....which leads to an interesting discovery.

Atour Riten, an Imperial librarian/records officer with a bit of a skill for "slicing" (Star Wars term for "hacker").

Captain/Doctor Kornell "Uli" Divini, a conscientious doctor with the Imperial Surgical Ops Corps who has an interesting encounter on the battlestation.

Chief Petty Officer Tenn Graneet, an Imperial Gunner who is given charge over gunnery shift one on the Death Star's primary weapon. It seems to be the gig of a lifetime....seems to be...

Celot Ratua Dil, a Zelosian male (half-fauna/half flora) who manages to win over Meema Roothes'. He is an escaped (non-violent) convict from the planet Despayre, over which the Death Star is constructed. He has a knack for procuring items and making a quick credit or two.

The story also expands on Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, the Death Star's ambitious "second in command"....aka, the guy Vader Force-choked in Star Wars.

Last edited by Martok2112; 10-12-2017 at 02:40 PM.

"It is not so much that I am a smart man, rather that I have simply been accused of having good ideas....on occasion." -Martok2112
"Much of what I know, I don't know half as well as I'd like, and half of what I know is more than deserves to be learned." -Martok2112

I actually passed on the last film when it was in the theater. I saw part of the film online and I was so disappointed with what I saw, I didn't want to bother with it. When it came available on digital, I checked it out and at least thought enough of it to buy it. With repeated viewings, my disappointment faded and was able to accept it as part of the saga.

For the next film, since it is Carrie Fisher's last role, I will be seeing the film. Aside from that reason, this one looks a bit better than the last one, so I think I'll enjoy it.

they actually wrote a novel called a certain point of view. it tells us stories of other characters in the star wars universe. it even has a few of our regular favorites. yoda wants to train leia instead of luke because yoda senses luke is much like vader. there is a story that enumerates the lightsaber battle between ben kenobi and darth vader on the death star.